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Title: The WHOLE SHEBANG : A STATE OF THE UNIVERSE S REPORT by Timothy Ferris ISBN: 0-684-83861-3 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 06 July, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.34 (56 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A good overview of all aspects of cosmology
Comment: I took a short, on-line course in cosmology this past month for which Timothy Ferris' book, The Whole Shebang, was the required text. Although I have a strong interest in physics and cosmology, I am by no means what I would call "good" at it. With only a rudimentary understanding of things like quantum mechanics, relativity physics and string theory, I still found the text readable. I felt that it was clearly enough written for the lay person that I was able to recommend it to a friend with little physics background who had enquired about the subject. This was especially the case as the text covers almost every aspect of cosmology, even in its final two chapters the question of God and the universe.
Covered also are the concepts of the speed of light and "seeing" the past of the universe, the expansion of the universe and the question of its fate, the first few moments of the universe and the creation of matter, the possibility of other universes, the possibility of other dimensions beyond the four we experience, the evolution of the large scale structures of the universe, the anthropic cosmological principle, and for those with a special interest in the topic of religion and philosophy vis a vie physics and cosmology, a discussion of God and the universe. Although there are several books which give a more in depth account of each of these topics, this one is an excellent compendium, which is probably why it was chosen as the text for the class.
The bibliographic notes to the text are all a little old, being mostly primary sources. This is good from the historical perspective, as it makes the reader aware of the underlying research in support of the author's text, who did it, what it was, and when it was done. However, it doesn't give the reader many of the more current titles with which to follow up his/her own interests.
All in all a good starting point.
Rating: 5
Summary: This book covers the whole....well, you know
Comment: Although he taught English and Journalism at the university of California, Berkeley, Timothy Ferris is one of the more knowledgeable fellows on the planet when it comes to cosmology. And this is, in fact, an extraordinary work on cosmology.
As a pre-requisite to Ferris' book, I would recommend "The First Three Minutes" by Stephen Weinberg. Although Weinberg's book is 20 years old (published, 1979), it is nonetheless still a classic in the cosmology field. It is also rather terse - only 150 or so pages in & out.
Ferris brings us up to to date on many of the "happenings" in cosmology since 1979. He discusses such diverse areas of physics as gravity waves, the mystery of singularities, why black holes have no hair and quantum weirdness (although the latter is an understatement...). I actually preferred this book over the much more famous "A Brief History In Time" by the Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking. Hawking's prose is a bit more dry than Ferris' and "Brief / Time" does not go as in depth into many important concepts as this book.
So, for those of you who wonder (like me) how in the world the universe began (or, perhaps, how in the universe the world began), this book is for you. Ferris can't answer all your questions, to be sure. But you can learn an awful lot in the process of engaging what we don't know. Also, in addition to this book I would recommend the PBS home video "The Creation Of The Universe" which is hosted by Ferris. It is the best video cosmological documentary I have ever seen (and I have seen quite a few). It, too, is available at Amazon.com
Rating: 4
Summary: The Book of the UNIVERSE
Comment: Now there is a plenty of the books of the authors of every possible calibers from various schools and predecessors. All of them are good in own way.
However offered book is laborious work of the author giving to generalize and to inform to us in the form the unique summary of a basis cosmology.
And so it is time to begin to understand with this cosmology. Please, take and read this book. It will be useful both schoolboy, and student, and pensioner.
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Title: Coming of Age in the Milky Way by Timothy Ferris ISBN: 0385263260 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 31 July, 1989 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Red Limit: The Search for the Edge of the Universe by Timothy Ferris ISBN: 068801836X Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 23 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Seeing in the Dark : How Amateur Astronomers Are Discovering the Wonders of the Universe by Timothy Ferris ISBN: 0684865807 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 08 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene ISBN: 0375708111 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 29 February, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Life Beyond Earth by Timothy Ferris ISBN: 0684849372 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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